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[H.M. Hubey]

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I am curious about this entry. This word "yeli" must also exist in
Iranian.
What does it mean?


#516. leli (mng unknown) Hurr. term in MH and NH festivals of Hurr.
background, all NS [GHL-N:60];

eliya 1) lightning 2) pagan.  ehlia (god of a lightning)

Turkmen songs and Circassian Nart Stories have the refrain ‘Yeli, Yeli’.
It seems to have spread around but apparently nobody knows what it is.
In Saga 42 of the book on Circassian Nart stories Colarusso [2002]
records Bzhedukh [West Circassian] hymn of the old men and women to the
God of lightning in the form of a round dance.

Yeli, Yeli, do not burn our village,
Yeli, Yeli, do not strike the forest of God's grove,
...
Yeli, Yeli, taking hold of one another we dance in a circle.
Yeli, Yeli, we dance around the tree of God's grove.
...
Yeli, Yeli, those who refuse to enter meet great lightning.
...

According to Colarusso[2002], the name of the storm god,  is also that
for 'poisonous snake,' suggesting old cultic iconography. Among the
Iroquoian speaking Huron or Wendat of Northeast North America the sign
for lightning was also a snake.[Colarusso].  It is  amazing that Turkish
for snake is also cılan/yılan, (ilan in Azeri), and Illuyanka in
Hittite. It is thought that the refrain 'Yeli, yeli' is from the name
'Elia' or 'Ilia', the prophet Elijah, widely worshipped as a sort of
lightning/storm god in the Caucasus and the steppes to the north
[Colarusso]. One Circassian name for Mount Elbruz is Yeli-place, that
is, 'God's place ,' or 'Elijah's place,' which is also known in
Circassian as mountain-blessed, 'The Blessed or Sacred Mountain'
[Colarusso2002]. It is known as Mingngi Taw in Karachay-Balkar. The
Minni (Manneans) are mentioned in ancient history of the Mideast and
they show up in the Caucasus. See the beginning. In Karachay-Balkar july
is eliya-ay.


--
M. Hubey

hubeyh at mail.montclair.edu
/\/\/\/\//\/\/\/\/\/\/http://www.csam.montclair.edu/~hubey



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